Month: August 2017

This morning as I was brushing my teeth a terrible thought hit me: School was about to start again. What happened to the summer vacation? I was just getting used to this lifestyle and now things are going to change again! After breakfast Mom explained that I needed to go shopping with her. We cleaned things up and were off.

I got three new pair of pants, three new shirts, a new pair of sports shoes, socks, underwear and a really cool backpack for all my school gear. I guess there are some positive things about getting back to school. I like what I am going to wear! After I got home I went out to see if Andy was around. He and his mom had just got back from buying his school supplies and clothes. He was all excited about getting back to learning. I cannot believe that ant. He is so smart already. I don’t know what I would do without his insights. Strange how an ant can teach me so much.

Yes, life is busy. Most of us feel we need to multitask just to survive. I watched a father the other day spend some “quality time” at a park with a young son about eight years old. Sadly, the dad was not engaging his son. He was physically there but he was many miles away emotionally and mentally. The entire time they were together for “quality time” he was talking on his phone, texting, or playing on his phone. His young son was off playing by himself without even a friend to help occupy his time.

Your kids need you! They need you to ask questions and to listen, play on the floor, hike a hill, or talk about life issues that are important to the child. Do your child a favor. When you set aside time for your child turn off your distractions. Do what is important to your child, not what is important to you.

The best part of the vacation last week was the two days of camping. Mom and Dad slept in the camping trainer with Becky and Dwayne and I slept outside in a tent. We had sleeping bags but it was too hot to sleep inside them so we slept on top of them. Mom made breakfast at a picnic table. For some reason our food always tastes better on camping trips. We did things as a family. We went hiking, swimming in the lake, and played games at night around the table. Andy an Uncle Andrew did about everything we did but stayed out of site. I don’t think they went swimming in the lake. Andy said this was the best week of his life. He learned so many things from Uncle Andrew and just being out in nature. We did have a few adventures together but we have made a pact to not tell anyone—so grown-ups will not get upset.

Your child is capable of coming up with surprising insight. Be listening, because your child is likely going to be teaching you a thing or two, regardless of age.

When my oldest grandson was about 2 ½ he was strapped into his car seat. He had no idea where he was or where his parents were taking him. All he could see was the world passing by. Mom and dad were in a serious conversation. There was a moment of silence between the two of them. My grandson was not involved in the adult conversation. Suddenly, out of the blue, he spoke out as clear as can be and said, “It is just a jungle out there!” Amazing insights can come from kids if you as a parent are just listening.

We leave later today to drive to the farm for a week of vacation. I have been looking forward to this. No mowing or pulling weeds this week. We are traveling in the car but Dad is pulling our little camping trailer behind so we can go camping for a day or two at the end of the week. I know this is going to be a great week.

My swimming has really improved and I will be able to swim in the big pond where the older kids swim. We will find all kinds of adventures on the farm. We always have a blast. None of my family knows but Andy and his Uncle Andrew are going with us. I have warned them to stay out of site because adults tend to think ants are a problem. My aunt even told my Mom a while back that she sprays chemicals to kill ants. Andy told me he knows humans don’t think much of them. God has a plan for ants. There are more ants than people so that should mean something!